Schilling departs EDC board meeting

CURT SCHILLING, founder of 38 Studios LLC and a former Boston Red Sox pitcher, has been in and out of meetings with the R.I. Economic Development Corporation Monday, looking to help his video-game company deal with a severe cash shortage.

PROVIDENCE – 38 Studios LLC founder Curt Schilling, along with a team from his company, have come and gone from the weekly meeting of the board of directors of the R.I. Economic Development Corporation without a comment.

The board, in a continuation of its emergency meeting called last Wednesday to discuss the fate of the cash-poor video-game developer, went back into executive session after Schilling and the rest of the 38 Studios contingent left the EDC’s Valley neighborhood offices.

Initially, the board had gone into executive session, sending Schilling and his colleagues into another room to await the conclusion of the meeting.

Soon after the start of the executive session, however, Schilling entered the board meeting. After close to an hour in the meeting, Schilling emerged and went back to his team.

During a short break from that meeting 38 Studios Chief Operating Officer Bill Thomas was asked about the details of the meeting as well as whether or not the company had made its payroll. He declined to comment on either topic.

In addition to receiving nearly $50 million from the $75 million worth of bonds that the state guaranteed, the company has applied for $14.1 million film tax credits over the last two years.

It is unknown what other specific requests for help were made if any.

The meeting on Wednesday was precipitated by the failure of 38 Studios to make a $1.125 million payment to the state on May 1, one in a series of payments to the state for providing the loan guarantees for the $75 million in bonds that were sold on behalf of the company.

In addition, the company revealed last week that it had missed its payroll.

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